Sipdown #19
The dry leaf aroma is potent. Phew! It certainly smells lime-y, although it’s also quite chemically and strong. The undiluted brewed tea aroma is…unappetizing. It just smells weird to me. Not like cherry or lime at all. Just a very strong black tea scent that borders on smoky. The diluted tea aroma is more like what I expected, although I’m still a little wary of that inexplicable harshness from the base.
Okay, so I seriously overleafed this tea. It says to brew it in 2 cups of water and then add 6 more cups. I only added 4.5 and I barely added any ice. So why does it taste so diluted? I’m getting mostly black tea with a tiny hint of cherry lime flavoring. The base tastes different from the other SBT black teas I’ve had, and the aftertaste turns bitter. Did Frank change to a different base from the original line of SBT teas released about 2-3 years ago?
This particular tea came in the fourth package design I’ve seen. I’m not sure what’s with the frequent packaging changes, although this last version does provide a lot of great, helpful information. I like the detailed steeping instructions and the alternate coldbrewing instructions. And this tea is organic?? Hmm, I didn’t know that. I guess that means it is a different base then because I don’t remember the first line of SBT teas being organic.
The more I sip it, the more I think I like it. But I have to say that it is mostly black tea with only a hint of lime. Perhaps there’s some cherry in here too but it’s definitely the quietest of the flavors. Maybe this would have been better if I coldbrewed it? I’d be interested to hear what others think of this because maybe I’m being over critical or I just botched the preparation somehow.
All in all, I feel that I have to give it a low (-ish) rating since it is not as expected and overall isn’t that yummy. I know Frank can do better than this. A few of the SBT flavors have blown my mind. (I’m looking at you, Pink Lemonade.) But this one is not spectacular.
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i think he did? change the base on sbt’s
The older/original SBT teas had “premium Indian CTC black teas blended with organic flavoring.” These newer ones have “premium organic black teas, organic flavors.” So, I’m not 100% sure they’re different but I think they are based on taste and the fact that he’s now describing the base itself as “organic.”
You have a very astute palate if you can actually taste a difference in the base tea. I did change the base from a CTC to an organic BOPFS from a different estate in the same south Indian region. My supplier was out of the CTC I had used and not expecting another shipment for months and offered this higher quality base as a suggested replacement. It has been the same base for about two years now, though the changes in the description came a little later. (I realized that we were using organic flavors and organic tea, so our iced teas were in effect 100% organic, so I added that to the description.)
As for the packaging changes, this should be the last one—fingers crossed. You should see the folders on my laptop: “SBT – Labels,” “SBT – New Labels,” “SBT – New NEW Labels,” “SBT – New New NEW Labels”. I’m so sick of redesigning labels.
Sorry you didn’t like the Cherry Limeade. It sounds like you prepared it correctly, if you steeped it 3 minutes in boiling water. 3 minutes is the high end of our recommendation for these. After that, it quickly over-steeps due to the delicate nature of the tea. It’s possible that it was over-steeped just a tiny bit. I’m basing that on your statement: “The base tastes different from the other SBT black teas I’ve had, and the aftertaste turns bitter.” Over-steeping does tend to mute the other flavors. Or maybe this one just didn’t do it for you. That happens. I think that’s why I make so many different flavors. I want to make enough so that everybody can find something they love. Of course, it would be great if everybody loved all of my teas, but I know that’s not going to happen. =)
There’s one other tea that comes to mind where I could tell the difference between the organic and non-organic versions. It’s definitely not something that I set out trying to tell apart. It was one of those things where I accidently bought an organic version and then was sipping it and thinking, “This doesn’t taste like I remember.”
So, I suppose it’s possible. But I just tried the SBT: Lime Cheesecake and found that base delicious! So assuming they’re the same thing, it’s probably the added flavorings of this tea that I didn’t particularly enjoy. But that’s all part of the adventure of tea! Everyone has different tastes and it’s part of the fun discovering what you like. Keep blending, Frank, and I’ll keep drinking. :)
i think he did? change the base on sbt’s
The older/original SBT teas had “premium Indian CTC black teas blended with organic flavoring.” These newer ones have “premium organic black teas, organic flavors.” So, I’m not 100% sure they’re different but I think they are based on taste and the fact that he’s now describing the base itself as “organic.”
You have a very astute palate if you can actually taste a difference in the base tea. I did change the base from a CTC to an organic BOPFS from a different estate in the same south Indian region. My supplier was out of the CTC I had used and not expecting another shipment for months and offered this higher quality base as a suggested replacement. It has been the same base for about two years now, though the changes in the description came a little later. (I realized that we were using organic flavors and organic tea, so our iced teas were in effect 100% organic, so I added that to the description.)
As for the packaging changes, this should be the last one—fingers crossed. You should see the folders on my laptop: “SBT – Labels,” “SBT – New Labels,” “SBT – New NEW Labels,” “SBT – New New NEW Labels”. I’m so sick of redesigning labels.
Sorry you didn’t like the Cherry Limeade. It sounds like you prepared it correctly, if you steeped it 3 minutes in boiling water. 3 minutes is the high end of our recommendation for these. After that, it quickly over-steeps due to the delicate nature of the tea. It’s possible that it was over-steeped just a tiny bit. I’m basing that on your statement: “The base tastes different from the other SBT black teas I’ve had, and the aftertaste turns bitter.” Over-steeping does tend to mute the other flavors. Or maybe this one just didn’t do it for you. That happens. I think that’s why I make so many different flavors. I want to make enough so that everybody can find something they love. Of course, it would be great if everybody loved all of my teas, but I know that’s not going to happen. =)
There’s one other tea that comes to mind where I could tell the difference between the organic and non-organic versions. It’s definitely not something that I set out trying to tell apart. It was one of those things where I accidently bought an organic version and then was sipping it and thinking, “This doesn’t taste like I remember.”
So, I suppose it’s possible. But I just tried the SBT: Lime Cheesecake and found that base delicious! So assuming they’re the same thing, it’s probably the added flavorings of this tea that I didn’t particularly enjoy. But that’s all part of the adventure of tea! Everyone has different tastes and it’s part of the fun discovering what you like. Keep blending, Frank, and I’ll keep drinking. :)